Granger Danger
by isaacswolfsbane
Summary: One Shot collection for random Hermione pairings I'm given in various challenges / 1 - HermioneViktor at the Yule Ball. / 2 - Hermione realises her soulmate is one of the Weasleys and has to work out which one before she runs out of words.
1. HermioneViktor

**when we're together, jealousy doesn't matter**

Hermione tries to hold back her tears as she walks, rather forcefully, away from where Ron and Harry are sitting. How dare Ron say she was fraternising with the enemy when he had been all but worshipping Viktor at the Quidditch World Cup? As her eyes start to brim with the furious tears she's trying to hold back, she can barely make her way through the room. The silver and royal blue of the chairs, tables, and decorations all blur into one mass of winter-themed colour. For a split second, she wants to laugh; only Ron could make her so angry she can't take in the beauty of the Great Hall.

Viktor's getting them both drinks—champagne by the looks of it, and Hermione can't help but wonder how he's managed to get them alcohol—and for a moment Hermione considers leaving. She doesn't really want to face him, not with tears in her eyes and a desire to punch the next person who says something out of line. But she does. It's the _Yule Ball_ and Hermione refuses to let Ron's words ruin her night. It's not as though an event like this will happen again in her time at school.

"Why so sad?" Viktor asks when Hermione reaches him. He puts an arm around her and squeezes slightly. "That pretty face is too pretty to be crying."

Hermione can't help but smile. Viktor's accent has always made his near-perfect use of the English language attractive. She's even able to quiet the voice inside that wants to correct him for using the word 'pretty' twice—it's a voice she's never been able to quiet around Ron.

Just thinking his name sends tears to her eyes once more that threaten to spill over.

"Ron," she tells him, realising that Viktor was actually waiting for an answer. "He's supposed to be one of my best friends yet won't be happy for me. He accused me of 'fraternising with the enemy'." Hermione can't help but laugh a little as she tells Viktor. Voicing the words aloud, she realises how ridiculous the accusation is.

"It sounds to me as if he is jealous because he missed his shot," Viktor says. "And who would not be when you are looking so beautiful?"

 _Jealous of Viktor, or jealous of me?_ Hermione wonders.

"Let us dance," Viktor says, gently guiding her towards the dance floor.

Hermione takes a couple of sips of her champagne to combat how dry her throat feels after almost crying and then places the glass on the first table they pass—she would feel bad about not drinking it since Viktor went to the trouble of getting it for her, but the few times Hermione has been allowed to try champagne before, she's never particularly enjoyed it and this time is no different.

It's a lot more crowded on the dance floor than Hermione had been expecting, and the music is much louder here too. She wonders if there had been a charm cast on the rest of the room to make it quieter and easier to talk. It was a wonderful bit of spellcasting if it had.

The song is a fast one that Hermione doesn't know and doesn't know how to dance to. Viktor has a huge grin on his face and Hermione can't help but smile too; his joy is infectious. She ends up awkwardly jumping around for a while and Viktor seems to be doing the same thing so she wonders if she actually looks as awkward as she feels.

When the song changes, it's to a much slower one. Hermione blushes as Viktor takes her in his arms. Even though she danced like this with him for the first song, she can't help but feel as though it's much more intimate this time.

It's a smooth transition, and Viktor effortlessly leads in a way that betrays his previous training in dance. Hermione smiles as they move and for a moment, all thoughts of Ron fade from her mind. When the music comes to an end, Hermione and Viktor find themselves chest to chest, Hermione looking up into the dark depths of his eyes.

In one fluid motion that Hermione barely registers, Viktor moves his hand to her cheek and leans his head down until their lips meet. Hermione's eyes widen in surprise. She wasn't been expecting this at all, and suddenly Hermione realises her lack of experience when it comes to kissing. Both in Gryffindor common room and her dorm she's heard people speak about kissing someone else, but none of their comments had been even remotely helpful. She hastily shuts her eyes and lets the kiss happen, hoping she's doing the right things with her mouth. It isn't unpleasant and she had wanted it to happen, but she hadn't been prepared for it to happen _right now_.

Her senses are in overdrive and she can feel every slight shift of Viktor's mouth, the ring on his finger that she had noticed him playing with earlier digging into her cheek. She's also very aware of the fact that they're on a crowded dance floor where anyone in the school could see this happen.

Viktor pulls away, and Hermione is relieved for a brief moment. It passes when Hermione realises she shouldn't be feeling relieved that it's over and maybe something isn't quite right between her and Viktor. At that moment, she realises that's a conversation she needs to have with Viktor sooner rather than later, and it's not one she's particularly looking forward to.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 923.

* * *

 **This is for:**

 _ **Hogwarts World Cup Event – Croatia;  
**_ _(colour) royal blue_

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – Insane House Challenge;  
**_ _169\. (location) The Great Hall_

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – 365 Prompts;  
**_ _211\. (plot point) dancing together_

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – Fanfiction Resolutions;  
**_ _61\. Write a collection based around a certain character (Hermione)_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Character Appreciation;  
**_ _21\. (house) Gryffindor_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Disney Challenge;  
**_ _C2 – Write about jealousy_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Book Club;  
**_ _Nibs – (word) helpful, (plot point) comforting someone, (action) dancing_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Showtime;  
**_ _46\. (word) time_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Count Your Buttons;  
**_ _D5 – "Why so sad?"  
W4 – shot_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Lyric Alley;  
**_ _6\. Everybody's dancing and the band's top volume_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Sophie's Shelf;  
**_ _Vault 68 – (restriction) only one female character_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Emy's Emporium;  
**_ _I2 – (setting) Hogwarts_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Days of the Year;  
**_ _National Kissing Day – write about someone being kissed_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Flowers;  
**_ _Aster – (word) attractive_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Fire Element;  
**_ _(word) dry_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Shay's Musical Challenge;  
**_ _The Phantom of the Opera – Write about someone being jealous_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Gryffindor Themed Prompts;  
**_ _(character) Hermione Granger_

 _ **Hogwarts Northern Funfair – Kissing Booth;  
**_ _(easy) Hermione/Viktor_

 _ **Hogwarts Eastern Funfair – Ferris Wheel;  
**_ _(theme) jealousy_

 _ **Hogwarts Southern Funfair – Wheel of Fortune;  
**_ _(object) ring_

 _ **Hogwarts July Event – Hamilton Mania;  
**_ _A1, 10 – (food) champagne  
OP9 – (character) Hermione Granger_

 _ **Hogwarts Fortnightly Event – Canadian Craze!;  
**_ _18\. Write a story set in winter_

 _ **Pairing Diversity Bootcamp;  
**_ _Hermione/Viktor, event_

 _ **Favourite Character Bootcamp;  
**_ _Hermione, even_

 _ **Character Diversity Bootcamp;  
**_ _Viktor, experience_


	2. HermionePercy

**time is fleeting (just like our words)**

Hermione rubs her wrist as she waits for her sorting. It's a habit she fell into the previous year while studying for her SATs. While she was studying, she had taken to reciting the information aloud — she found she recalled it much faster if she did this — and every time she did, the counter on her wrist telling her how many words she had left went down. She'd get nervous looking at the number and would cover it so she couldn't see how many were left. Then she started doing it every time she was nervous.

Of course, it's still a much larger number than Hermione can even count to — mostly down to the time it would take, not Hermione's inability to count — but of the thirty million words she had been allocated at birth, only eight million remain. Based on the average number of three thousand words spoken a day — a number that had dwindled significantly since the counters first appeared twenty years ago — thirty million words should have lasted until she was twenty-seven, but Hermione and her mother had worked out that the thirteen million that remained should only last her until the end of school.

"Granger, Hermione," Professor McGonagall says, and Hermione quietly makes her way up to the front of the hall.

She can hear one or two murmurs of chatter, the same as for the previous students to be called up, but they're few and far between. Hermione can tell that it's only partly in consideration of their number of words — she's from a Muggle family and doesn't know anybody, so why would they want to comment on her sorting even if they could speak freely?

Professor McGonagall places the hat on her head, and as it falls over her eyes it says, "No need to be nervous; I'm only a hat."

Hermione jumps at the words. She hadn't been expecting it to talk to her. She wants to reply, to tell it that she's nervous about the new school, not about the hat, but she stops herself. She isn't sure if the words will count, and she can't see her arm to check.

"They don't," the hat tells her. "This is all happening inside your mind. Thoughts don't count, only spoken words. But you knew that already."

She doesn't know how to react. She had known that thoughts didn't count, of course, but since she was having a conversation there was a part of her that was worried that it would, and she needs to keep an eye on her word count.

Hermione stays silent. She isn't sure how this is supposed to work — a hat placing you in a house seems a little ludicrous — but she isn't very experienced with magic and nobody else seems to find it strange so she just waits for it to do its thing.

"You have a brilliant mind," the hat says after a while. "Desperate for knowledge and a need to be right. Perfect for a Ravenclaw; most of those are lower on words than they should be, too. But there's a fire in you. There's a need to do what's right."

 _Of course,_ Hermione thinks. _I'm not going to do something wrong on purpose._

"And an inability to hold your tongue."

Hermione scowls. She wants to glare at the hat, but he's inside her head so she doesn't know how.

"Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Two very good houses," the hat says, and Hermione thinks she can detect a hint of amusement in its voice. "But which one would suit you better?"

The hat falls silent again. Hermione wonders if the hat has done this for all of the students or if he's staying silent because he knows it will annoy her.

 _If it's the latter, it's certainly working._

Eventually, the hat makes its decision and she can feel its presence leave her mind seconds before it yells, "Gryffindor!" for the whole of the Great Hall to hear.

* * *

 _i. Ginny_

It isn't until the first time Hermione visits the Burrow that she notices something is different. At first, she's overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people in such a small place, how affectionate Molly Weasley is, and how she (and Harry) are treated like they're family so she doesn't notice anything. She keeps to herself and she reads. In the living room, of course — just because she's trying to save her words doesn't mean she's going to miss out on all the fun.

She doesn't stay silent the whole time, though. She speaks with Harry and Ron, and she joins in the conversations at the dinner table.

Then, when she catches herself singing while packing her trunk for Hogwarts, she shoots a horrified glance at her wrist. And the number has gone up.

Not significantly — she had been on just over six million two hundred thousand words at the start of summer and now she was just under six million three hundred thousand — but enough that it's noticeable.

It isn't until later that night, as she's lying in her bed in Ginny's room, that Hermione realises what it means.

Someone in the Burrow is her soulmate.

…

She watches her wrist as Ginny sleeps, but nothing changes. The counter stays as it is.

 _It's not Ginny._

A small part of Hermione is pleased it isn't; it would feel wrong dating (well, eventually) her best friend's younger sister, especially when she has a crush on her other best friend.

 _When did my life get so confusing?_

…

"I need your help," Hermione says as the two girls are getting dressed the following morning.

"Oh?" Ginny asks, her eyebrows raising in surprise. She's still the meek little girl she had been the year before, but after the incident with the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny has started to become more confident around Hermione.

"I think one of your brothers might be my soulmate," she says, holding her wrist out to Ginny. "It was just over six-point-two million when I finished Hogwarts and now look!"

As the numbers count down, Hermione cringes slightly. She notices Ginny take a sneaky look at her own wrist before her eyebrows raise slightly in shock.

 _She must have seen how low my counter is compared to hers._

"Which one?" Ginny asks after a while.

"That's what I need help with. I don't know."

* * *

 _ii. Harry & Ron_

They decide Harry and Ron are the obvious places to start — after Ginny reminds Hermione that Harry had also been at the Burrow. They don't need to come up with a plan to find out if it's one of them since they're rarely apart. She observes her wrist over two days.

At King's Cross Station, the words go up slightly.

On the train, Hermione is too distracted by Crookshanks to pay enough attention to take note.

In the Great Hall, sometimes they go up and sometimes they stay the same.

The same thing happens in the common room.

In her Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, Hermione makes a point to take note of her counter at the start of the lesson, tally up how many words she speaks throughout, and then compare it with the number on her wrist at the end.

She doesn't gain any words.

A part of her had known already that it wasn't either of them. She spends every day with them; if it had been one of them she would have noticed that she was gaining words sooner.

"It's a shame," Ginny says when Hermione tells her. "You and Ron bicker so much that would have made for an interesting coupling."

* * *

 _iii. Bill & Charlie_

They rule out Bill and Charlie pretty quickly after. Hermione is gaining words while at Hogwarts — mostly in the common room and the library, but that's probably because she spends the most time in those two places — and either Bill nor Charlie are students anymore.

That only leaves three brothers for the pair of them to narrow it down to. With Ginny's help, Hermione doesn't think it'll be that hard.

* * *

 _iv. George_

"What's the plan then, Gin?"

Hermione's question causes Ginny, who had been sitting with her back to the door, to jump and pull the white throw she's sitting under tighter around her body before turning to face Hermione.

"I think it's better if you don't know," she says. "Just have some faith."

The way Ginny's eyes light up makes her look like she's just won the lottery, and Hermione isn't sure she's going to like whatever it is Ginny is planning. She's seen that look before on Harry, and both of those occasions nearly ended up with at least one of them dead.

"But I'm the one—" Hermione cuts herself off. Ginny already knows that Hermione's supposed to be the one executing the plan, and it would only waste words to tell her.

She glances down at her wrist. The number is now sitting just under two million and would maybe last her two years if she's careful. She curses herself for wanting to take every class this year — using the time turner to be in two places at once has meant she's also had to use at least twice as many words as usual and the counter on her arm has begun to get much lower than Hermione would like. Spending Christmas at Hogwarts studying hadn't helped either since she still hasn't managed to shake the habit of rehearsing the information aloud.

"Here." Ginny hands Hermione a sheet of parchment and a self-inking quill and gestures for her to sit on the bed. "I saw your arm last night and… There are other ways to communicate that don't use words, you know."

Ginny's hands make a few deliberate gestures. Hermione can't work out what they mean though.

"What—"

Ginny holds up a hand and points to the parchment. Hermione rolls her eyes. She knows Ginny is just looking out for her, but if she's going to keep on like this, Hermione isn't going to be happy.

 _What was that?_ Hermione writes, her writing neat despite the rush she was in to write them.

"Sign language," Ginny tells her. "Percy taught me a little when he learned. I only really remember the alphabet, though."

It takes a while — Ginny has to remind her which finger is which vowel more than once and she keeps forgetting the sign for F — but eventually Hermione manages to learn the alphabet and is able to spell out sentences.

…

When they leave the dormitory, all Hermione can hear is noise. It's strange. It isn't the usual chatter that fills the common room. No, this is loud and very deliberate.

She isn't surprised when she sees it's George parading around the common room, shouting at the top of his lungs. She knows it's him because he keeps calling Fred's name.

"Who would have thought it, Freddie? Little ol' me finding my soulmate! And someone as gorgeous a Seamus too. Who would have thought it? Would anyone have believed I could be so lucky? I certainly wouldn't have believed it if you'd told me three years ago. And now I'm free to speak as much as I like! This will do wonders for business, Freddie."

Hermione's eyes search the room for Seamus and eventually find him in the corner, staring down at his wrist with his cheeks steadily turning cherry blossom pink. She does feel sorry for him — Merlin knows how she'd react if someone kicked up this much of a fuss about her being their soulmate — but she can't help but feel relieved. If Seamus is George's soulmate, then that means there's one less Weasley for Hermione to try and get alone.

* * *

 _v. Fred_

Hermione rubs her temples as she tries to focus on the book in front of her. She had escaped to the Library to try and get some peace and quiet from the celebration happening in the common room, but the noise has followed her. A couple of stacks away, someone is making a hell of a racket. She's about to go and fetch Madam Pince, surprised that she hasn't already come to scold whoever it is, when she hears her name.

"How are we supposed to find Hermione this place is like a maze?"

"Just look for something that looks like a poodle. Or a bush. How is it that her hair is so big and we _still_ can't find her?"

Hermione slams her book shut and gets to her feet. Logically, she knows she should tell Madam Pince, but the poodle comment has got to her. She has a suspicion of who it could be, and when she rounds the corner and spots two ginger heads that suspicion is confirmed.

"Ah, so it is you two insulting me," Hermione says, making both Fred and George jump.

"We weren't insulting you," Fred says, though Hermione can tell from his tone he doesn't really mean it.

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry. You were only insulting my hair."

"You've got it!" George is louder than he needs to be, and Hermione cringes, suddenly remembering that if Madam Pince hasn't berated them yet, it won't be long until she does. "Now what can we help you with on this fine evening?"

Hermione rolls her eyes. "I believe it was the two of you who were looking for me. Or did you just come here to get a rise out of me?"

Fred and George look at each other and it's clear to Hermione that they haven't thought whatever this is through.

"Because I'd expect this of Malfoy, but you two?" Hermione isn't sure why she keeps talking. She knows she shouldn't — her words are starting to get dangerously low — but her mouth just keeps moving. "You're the brothers of one of my best friends! I'd have thought you'd at least have the decency in you to show _some_ kindness to his friends."

"Miss Granger."

The voice is cold and distant, and can only belong to Madam Pince. Hermione freezes, not wanting to turn and face the displeased face of the woman who runs her favourite place in Hogwarts. But she knows she has to, so she turns, and Madam Pince's face is even colder than Hermione had imagined.

"I'm not surprised these two are causing a racket—" She gestures towards Fred and George. "—but I thought you knew better. Detention, all three of you. You'll be cleaning up the Library when it closes tomorrow night. Now out, all of you."

All the colour drains from Hermione's face. She can't believe she let herself react to Fred and George. She had known that going to Madam Pince was the smart idea, but she'd indulged herself and ended up in detention for something that wasn't even her fault.

She sighs. It seems like getting detention because of other people is becoming a pattern. Hermione doesn't like it.

"Are you two happy now?" Hermione asks, her voice full of annoyance that she's certain is showing on her face. "You've caused havoc and got me kicked out of the library. What was your endgame for this?"

Fred and George both shrug.

"There's a celebration for your best friend catching the snitch," George says. "Didn't think it was right that you were missing out."

…

Hermione can't believe she's in the library for _detention_. She'd normally love to be in the library when it was this quiet, but she can't take advantage of it because she has to stack shelves. Thankfully, they've all been given different sections and Hermione can get it done quickly without Fred and George bothering her.

"Miss Granger," Madam Pince says, making Hermione jump and drop the book she's putting back on the shelf. "I have a staff meeting to attend. I trust you can keep an eye on those two buffoons while I'm gone."

"Of course, Madam Pince."

She nods and leaves Hermione alone. Almost the second she's left, Fred and George appear in her place.

"Has ickle Hermione been left in charge?" Fred coos. He looks as though he wants to pinch Hermione's cheeks, but he stops when he sees the disgusted look she's shooting him.

"I think she has, Freddie. Ickle Hermione's the boss. I hope she doesn't boss us around too much; we have important business to attend to."

Hermione rolls her eyes but allows herself to join in. "Just because I'm the boss, doesn't make me bossy," she says, laughter dancing on the edge of her voice. "But I will dock your pay if you don't go and stack shelves."

"Yes, boss," they say in unison before disappearing.

The rest of detention is surprisingly fun. Hermione allows herself to joke with Fred and George about their roles and responsibilities, and the room is filled with chatter and laughter. They trade stories — Fred and George of the experiments they do in their free time, Hermione stories of the previous two years with Ron and Harry — and Hermione manages to get them to agree not to test anything on her in the future, but only after telling them how she managed to brew Polyjuice Potion in her second year.

She almost forgets that she's in detention until Madam Pince comes back and chides them for being too loud. They finish up in silence, and the playfulness is lost when they walk back up to the common room.

…

"Well?" Ginny asks as Hermione slides into the seat opposite her.

Hermione takes a cookie from the plate between them. "Well, what?"

Ginny sighs. "Last night." At Hermione's blank look Ginny explains, "Your detention with Fred and George. How did it go?"

As the words sink in, Hermione realised what happened. "That was your doing?" she asks, shaking her head. "This is exactly why I don't trust you to come up with the plans on your own."

"Did it work? Is Fred your soulmate?" Ginny asks.

Hermione's eyebrows fly upwards. She had completely forgotten about the counter last night, she'd just enjoyed having fun. Glancing down at her wrist, Hermione's stomach sinks. She's lost over fifteen thousand words since last night, and as she speaks to Ginny, the number gets closer and closer to dipping below a million. She curses herself for letting her guard down and enjoying spending time with Fred and George. How could she have forgotten about her words?

Her appetite gone, Hermione breaks the cookie up with her fingers, watching the crumbs fall onto her plate as she shakes her head in response to Ginny's question.

"How did they even manage to get _you_ in detention?" Ginny asks. Before Hermione has answered, Ginny says, "Wait, silly question, they already told me. He really compared your hair to a poodle?"

Hermione throws the remains of the cookie onto her plate. "I suppose you find that funny, do you?"

"A little," she admits. "So would you if you weren't consumed by whatever's eating at you. What's wrong?"

Hermione holds up her wrist so Ginny can see her counter. It's so close to one million that Hermione wouldn't be surprised if it fell below before the end of the day.

"I wish it had worked," she says, her voice quiet. "I could do with the extra words."

Ginny rolls her eyes. "Some genius you are," she says. "I've only got one brother left, and you've got two very obvious reasons to talk to him."

* * *

 _vi. Percy_

Hermione hesitates outside the doors to the library. She almost laughs — it's the first time she's ever hesitated before going into the library before. But the knowledge of her counter having finally dropped below a million puts too much of a downer on her mood for her to be able to.

Her hand pats her pocket, checking for the sixth or seventh time that she has the piece of parchment that she needs. When she runs out of things to say, she digs deep for the Gryffindor bravery that resides in here and marches forwards.

It doesn't take long to find Percy; he's in the quietest corner of the library with his head bent over a book and his left hand frantically scribbling down notes. They're hardly legible, and Hermione isn't surprised since she hasn't actually seen his eyes leave the book once.

She clears her throat, but when that fails to get his attention, she taps him on the shoulder.

He looks up, eyes blinking as if he isn't sure where he is.

"What?" he snaps.

Hermione flinches slightly, but Percy's reaction was to be expected — she reacts similarly when someone disturbs her studying, and Percy has his N.E.W.T.s coming up.

She fetches the letter — note, really — from her pocket and hands it to Percy. Hermione had checked and double checked the note so many times after she wrote it that as Percy reads, she can recite the words in her head.

 _Percy,_

 _Sorry to interrupt your studying when I know how important it is. My counter has dipped below one million words left and Ginny told me you know sign language. I was hoping you'd be able to teach me so I don't have to speak more than absolutely necessary._

Percy's eyes flick to his own wrist and then to Hermione's before he makes eye contact with her.

"What do you know already?" he asks.

"Just the alphabet. Ginny taught me a few weeks ago."

Percy sighs. "I have N.E.W.T.s to study for." There's a pause, and Hermione can feel her stomach sinking, readying herself for Percy to say no. "I'll teach you. Meet me here after dinner."

…

Hermione leaves dinner early, leaving half of the ice cream she was eating behind. She had been struggling to eat anyway; she was too nervous about finding out for certain if Percy was her soulmate. She checks her wrist quickly. Nine hundred and eighty thousand exactly.

Percy's already waiting for her when she arrives. He cocks one eyebrow as if to imply she was late and then makes a series of gestures with his hands that she doesn't understand. Her eyes flick between his hands and his face, and Hermione notices that he's mouthing someone the words as he signs. She isn't a good enough lip reader to piece together what he's saying, though.

"What?" she asks. She knows it probably comes across as rude, but she's scared to say anything more, desperate to cling onto as many words as possible.

"It was a demonstration of my proficiency," he says. "Don't worry, we'll start you off small. Spell out your full name."

Hermione does. It's slow, and it's messy, but she does it.

H-E-R-M-I-O-N-E-J-E-A-N-G-R-A-N-G-E-R

Percy shakes his head. "No, no. You need to leave more of a gap between the words, especially since you weren't mouthing it. Try again, and mouth it this time."

She does, this time a little more confident.

"Excellent. Now, word order changes in sign language sometimes. Instead of saying 'my name is' as you would in English, it's more like 'name my'. Like this."

Hermione watches as Percy uses the first two fingers on his right hand to do what looks like a salute and the point to himself before spelling out his name. He repeats it, and Hermione remembers what he said about mouthing words. This time, she watches his mouth too.

Salute. _Name._ Point. P-E-R-C-Y. _Percy._

Hermione tries it then. She salutes, mouths the word 'name', points to herself, spells her name, and mouths Hermione. When she looks at Percy, he seems pleasantly surprised at how well she had picked it up.

The rest of the evening passes in a blur of hand movements, and when Hermione leaves him alone to do his studying, she thinks she's really beginning to get the hang of it. Of course, he had to physically move her hands a few times to get them in the right position, but the frequency of that had dropped the longer he'd been teaching her.

It isn't until Hermione's in bed trying to sleep that she remembers why she went to Percy for help. Her hand searches her bedside table to her wand, and when she's found it she whispers, " _Lumos._ "

There, in black against her pale skin, sits the number one million and three.

…

The closer it gets to exams, the more Hermione starts to worry Percy will stop teaching her. But he doesn't. They alternate between sign language and revising for their exams. Percy even helps with Hermione's revision claiming, "You never know what's going to come up in the N.E.W.T.s; it could be something from first year for all I know."

The longer they learn, the more confident Hermione grows in her ability, and the higher the counter on her arm gets. They even start having full conversations in sign language — something no doubt delights Madam Pince. They talk through their revision practices and Percy talks her through what it's like to be Prefect and Head Boy and what Hermione should expect when she's in his position because, "With a brain like yours Dumbledore would be a fool not to appoint you."

As the weeks go on, Hermione almost forgets that the reason she approached him in the first place was that they're supposed to be soulmates. Of course, she does think about it occasionally — usually when she takes note of the counter on her wrist and notices how the number is still climbing — but when she's with Percy, it never crosses her mind.

Until the day Percy notices, that is.

When Hermione arrives at the library, he doesn't give her the usual warm greeting she's used to. At first, she thinks he's just hard at work, and then she notices the quill clutched in his left hand isn't moving across the paper.

" _What's wrong?"_ she signs. When he doesn't answer, she repeats herself out loud. "Percy, what's wrong?"

For a minute, he doesn't move. Then, he lifts up his right arm so Hermione can see the number written there. Six million, three hundred thousand, one hundred and ninety-four.

"It's gone up," he says quietly. "It wasn't this high at the start of the year."

Hermione's eyes are trained on his counter. It doesn't move. She knows Percy is speaking, but the counter doesn't go down.

And then it goes up.

 _Do the words you speak to your soulmate not count?_ Hermione wonders, but then Percy is staring at her with an accusatory look in his eye and Hermione feels her stomach drop.

"You've been using me." Percy's tone is clipped and business-like. Hermione hates it.

"I wasn't—" Hermione begins, but Percy forcefully shoves himself up from the table.

"I never wanted a soulmate," he says. "I learnt sign language so I wouldn't have to worry about my words, and I don't want to be responsible for someone else's."

Hermione starts to speak, but ironically, she can't find the words she wants to say. Instead, she just watches Percy leave. She feels like she's deflating, like his words have sharp edges that have cut through her skin and are burrowing their way into her brain, heart, and stomach all at once.

She keeps their spot in the library, spending every free moment there in the hope that Percy would return and she could explain herself.

He doesn't.

* * *

 _vii. Percy (again)_

The lights and sounds of the battle all blur into one as Hermione leaves the Chamber of Secrets. She's done it. She's destroyed one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. And she doesn't even have the words to celebrate. She wants to more than anything, but she can't afford to. The counter on her wrist sits at twenty thousand words.

Thankfully, Hermione had learnt non-verbal magic early — special lessons taught by Professor McGonagall for those who were running out of words — and she's able to shoot off non-verbal spells with ease as she passes Death Eater after Death Eater on her way to find Harry.

"Ginny!" Ron shouts. Hermione's thankful he's with her; there's no way she'd have got Ginny's attention without him.

"Nobody knows where the sword is," she says, preempting the questing Hermione was about to ask. "I didn't find _anything._ I don't know how you're going to destroy that thing. I'm sorry."

"We already have," Ron says. "Basilisk fang from the Chamber of Secrets. Any sign of Harry?"

"I think he was headed up to the Room of Requirement."

Hermione's already running again. She knows she's going to die soon — either hit by a spell during the battle or by running out of words — and she wants to help as much as she can before that happens. Her only focus is getting to Harry, and her fierce determination means she doesn't notice someone is in her way until she literally runs into them.

"Percy?" she asks, the shock at seeing him for the first time in four years breaking her vow of silence.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

He grabs her hand and helps her to her feet, Hermione nodding in response. He doesn't let go of her hand right away, instead, he turns it over so he can see her counter.

"Shit," he mutters. "Hermione, I'm sorry. What I did when I found out… it was shitty— _I_ was shitty. I only cared about my grades and working for the minister." Percy snorts. "A fat lot of good that turned out to be. He's a complete arse."

Hermione just stares at him dumbfounded as she works out what she wants to say.

"Percy, I… What?"

"Well, he is working for You-Know-Who," Percy says with a chuckle.

Hermione's mouth drops open. She hasn't seen Percy herself, but from what she had heard from Ron, he hadn't exactly been a pleasant person to be around, and yet he's here in front of her and cracking jokes.

"I didn't realise your counter would get so low," he says then, sincerity filling his voice. "I didn't think about my actions, and alongside abandoning my family, I think that's the biggest mistake I've ever made."

"It hurt, Percy. I thought we were friends. I'd all but completely forgotten about the soulmate thing; I enjoyed spending time with you."

"I'm sorry," Percy says again. "Let me make it up to you, please."

* * *

The first thing Hermione does when Percy gets home is check his wrist. It's a habit they've got into since Percy's counter fell to twelve thousand after a particularly taxing month of work — both of them have a habit of overworking and they hadn't seen each other once that month. Three million, eight hundred and seventeen thousand, nine hundred and eighty-two.

"You've been working too hard," she says. "I asked you not to let yourself dip below four million while you were away."

He gives her a sheepish grin. "I know, but it's not my fault they pick the ones with soulmates to do all the talking."

He pulls her in for a kiss and Hermione lets herself melt into him.

"How are Molly and Hugo?" he asks when they break apart.

"They should be sleeping, but if I know those two, they'll be waiting up for you to come home."

Sure enough, two sets of feet pound down the stairs followed by a chorus of, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Percy kneels down and wraps them both in a hug.

"You two should be sleeping," he says, but Hermione can hear in his voice that he's glad they aren't. "Shall I read you a bedtime story?"

Molly and Hugo both nod and turn to race back up the stairs, Molly gripping tightly to Percy's hands and pulling him behind her.

Hermione chuckles. She can't believe how lucky she is to have such a wonderful family, especially after the rocky start she and Percy had. Looking down at her wrist, she remembers how she was living word-by-word at school. Now, it sits at well over seven million and hasn't been dangerously low in years.

Percy's voice trickles down the stairs, and Hermione mindlessly strokes her stomach. It's probably about time she tells Percy to start thinking of more baby names.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 5,390.

* * *

 **This is for:**

 _ **Hogwarts Assignment Two – Philosophy;**_ _Task 3 – Write about someone facing negative consequences for overindulgence_

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – Insane House Challenge;  
**_ _78\. (pairing) Percy/Hermione_

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – 365 Prompts;  
**_ _192\. (location) The Burrow_

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – Fanfic Resolutions;  
**_ _61\. Write a collection based around a certain character (Hermione)_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Days of the Year;  
**_ _Book Lover's Day – Write about a book lover_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Summer Prompts;  
**_ _(food) ice cream_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Colour Prompts;  
**_ _Cherry blossom_

 _ **Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Gryffindor Themed Prompts;  
**_ _(character) Percy Weasley, (location) Gryffindor Common Room_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Character Appreciation;  
**_ _8\. (house) Gryffindor (bonus for using Percy)_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Disney Challenge;  
**_ _S1: Write about someone being afraid to speak_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Cookie's Crafty Corner;  
**_ _Needles – Write a het pairing_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Showtime;  
**_ _11\. (word) faith_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Count Your Buttons;  
**_ _P4: Hermione/Percy_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Lyric Alley;  
**_ _10\. When the sharpest words want to cut me down_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Sophie's Shelf;  
**_ _6\. Hermione/Percy_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Angel's Arcade;  
**_ _Sonya Blade – (character) Ginny Weasley, (word) fierce, (action) kissing_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Lo's Lowdown;  
**_ _C5: (word) genius_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Bex's Bazaar;  
**_ _F3: Write about someone communicating without speaking_

 _ **Hogwarts August Event – Sophie's Tearoom;  
**_ _Blueberry Scones – (dialogue) "This is exactly why I don't trust you."_

 _ **Hogwarts August Event – Holmes Mystery;  
**_ _Chapter One – (colour) white_

 _ **Hogwarts August Event – Romance Awareness;  
**_ _Day 8 – You have a limited number of words and can only recharge with your soulmate. When you run out of words, you die_

 _ **Hogwarts August Event – Auction;  
**_ _(character) Hermione Granger_

 _ **Hogwarts August Event – Gobstones;  
**_ _Green Stone – Regret  
A – (dialogue) "I didn't find anything."  
P – (setting) The Great Hall  
T – (food) cookies_

 _ **Hogwarts Fortnightly Event – Chocolate;  
**_ _Stracciatella – (food) ice cream_

 _ **Hogwarts Fortnightly Event – Amazing Women;  
**_ _2\. (dialogue) "just because I'm the boss, doesn't make me bossy."_

 _ **Camp Potter – The Fairy Woods;  
**_ _Write about someone learning a new skill_

 _ **Camp Potter – Ice Cream Making Station;  
**_ _Salted Caramel – (setting) The Great Hall (bonus)_

 _ **Camp Potter – Giant Jenga;  
**_ _2A. (dialogue) "He really compared your hair to a poodle?"_

 _ **Build A Zoo – Elephants;  
**_ _Enclosure – (setting) Hogwarts_


End file.
